Brussels, 15 January 2019 – MVNO Europe keeps growing with the addition of sipgate Wireless. Together with its affiliate sipgate GmbH, sipgate Wireless offers integrated mobile and fixed solutions to businesses and consumers.

MVNO Europe is pleased to further expand by welcoming sipgate Wireless among its members. Based in Düsseldorf and active in Germany for more than nine years, sipgate Wireless operates as a full MVNO. Its very high-quality mobile solutions are marketed by its affiliate Sipgate GmbH to serve both businesses and consumers using the brands “sipgate team” and “simquadrat”. With better telephony as declared goal, sipgate Wireless distinguishes itself by offering transparent and personalized services to its customers.

With sipgate Wireless among its members, MVNO Europe will keep fighting to eliminate all the existing barriers that prevent MVNOs from competing and innovating on European markets. Above all, and especially in light of the emergence of 5G technologies, this implies securing fair and non-discriminatory network access conditions for MVNOs in all European countries. In parallel, in order to fulfil the needs of telecommunications customers, MVNO Europe and sipgate Wireless will work together on reducing EU wholesale roaming caps as well as on finding common grounds with some handset manufacturers on technical issues.

Jacques Bonifay, chairman of MVNO Europe, said that “with 5G auction procedures approaching in several European countries, if we are to secure a regulatory landscape allowing for competition, innovation and benefiting all end-users, it is of utmost importance to guarantee that MVNOs have fair network access”.

Brussels, 07 January – MVNO Europe starts the new year with the addition of freenet Group. As the mother company of three MVNOs in Germany – namely mobilcom-debitel, callmobile and klarmobil – representing 12 million subscribers, the freenet Group offers a wide array of services on mobile and TV markets.

MVNO Europe is delighted to welcome its first German member. The freenet Group, operating online, via 570 own shops and several thousand distribution outlets throughout Germany, offers high-quality post-paid contracts and pre-paid offers for mobile communications. The freenet Group also provides state-of-the-art digital IPTV entertainment and terrestrial TV services. In parallel, the freenet Group develops innovative digital applications that relate to home automation and security, energy, data security, and infotainment.

In view of the wholesale agreements the freenet Group has with the three German MNOs, its well-established presence on the German market (i.e. around 12 million mobile subscribers) as well as the regular exchanges it has with the authorities like Bundesnetzagentur and Bundeskartellamt, MVNO Europe believes that the new member will help the association make progress towards fair and non-discriminatory network access conditions – regardless the technology – in Germany. The new member will also bolster MVNO Europe’s efforts to make wholesale roaming prices reduced in a way that truly benefits consumers and businesses within the EU.

Jacques Bonifay, chairman of MVNO Europe, expressed his satisfaction “to have a member with prominent presence in the biggest European country and that will allow MVNO Europe to make its voice heard more legitimately on crucial innovation and competition issues”.

Brussels, November 2018 – MVNO EUROPE welcomes the European Parliament‘s assessment work on the impact of Roaming-Like-At-Home (RLAH) and calls on the European Commission to carefully examine the ITRE Committee in-depth study to swiftly reduce wholesale roaming regulated tariffs.

Last week, at the hearing organized by the European Parliament’s Industry Committee (ITRE), Michael Krammer, CEO of Ventocom (member of MVNO Europe), explained to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and to the European Commission to what extent Mobile Virtual Network Operators’ business has been affected by the special wholesale regime accompanying the end of retail roaming surcharges within the EU/EEA. While praising the advantages gained by consumers, Michael Krammer underlined the huge cost incurred by MVNOs as a result of the explosion of roaming traffic (+100%), in particular data usage. Given that MVNOs do not own their own network, as opposed to MNOs, MVNOs cannot offset those costs by trading wholesale roaming to other operators (while MNOs are able to do it). In parallel, MVNOs do not have the same ability to negotiate competitive wholesale prices as MNOs do. This problem is worsened by the fact that regulated wholesale caps remain substantially above retail prices. As a result, in Austria, but also in many other European countries, MVNOs are forced to sell roaming to their customers at a loss and to pay wholesale roaming prices that are 50% higher than those MNOs pay to each other. The resulting effect is that MVNOs are at a disadvantage, which undermines their ability to fully play their role in boosting competition on telecom markets as they always did.

MVNO Europe is glad to observe that the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), and several MEPs are aware and recognize the need for the European institutions to deal with this abnormal situation on wholesale markets in order to make the Roaming-Like-At-Home regime a success in the long term for both operators and end-users (consumers and business users). The Chair of the hearing, MEP Paul Rübig (EPP, Austria) even declared that “the next European Digital Commissioner will have to demonstrate that roaming matters will remain central during his/her term”.

Both the positive and side effects produced by one year of implementation of the RLAH regime have been further assessed by the European Parliament Research Services (EPRS) in the recently in-depth study titled “Roaming: One Year After Implementation”. The study finds that wholesale roaming caps are at least 10x higher than the real cost of providing wholesale roaming services. In order to “fix” wholesale markets’ roaming problems, the report recommends “lowering of the wholesale cap for international mobile”, “enabling permanent roaming at a wholesale level for IoT application providers” and “sharing future 5G networks with open access to all service providers including MVNOs”. MVNO Europe believes that, if it is to achieve a European Digital Single Market, the European Commission has to seriously take into account these conclusions when it will conduct a review of the wholesale roaming market in 2019.

Brussels, 22 November 2018 – Following the publication of the draft ‘5G’ spectrum auction terms by the German Federal Network Agency (‘the BNetzA’), MVNO Europe calls on the German regulator to impose wholesale network access requirements on radio spectrum licensees. In addition, we ask the BNetzA to further detail the internal-external non-discrimination principle it puts forward, and to ensure that it unambiguously has full power to intervene, notably in cases of clear discrimination between mobile networks’ own businesses and other services providers.

While regretting the lacking provisions making third service providers’ – and more particularly Mobile Virtual Network Operators (hereafter ‘MVNOs’) – access to future 2 GHz and 3,6 GHz networks mandatory, MVNO Europe welcomes the progress made by the BNetzA on the obligations for Mobile Network Operators (hereafter ‘MNOs’) to cooperate in the development of a modern infrastructure. More specifically, MVNO Europe lauds the new negotiation requirements MNOs will have to comply with when it comes to service provider access, national roaming and infrastructure sharing. Similarly, MVNO Europe welcomes the BNetzA’s ability to arbitrate disputes and – where necessary – impose fines on operators infringing the non-discrimination principle.

The obligation for MNOs to cooperate in the expansion of 5G networks in Germany and BNetzA’s new capabilities can contribute to ensuring that German mobile operators do not obstruct competition and innovation. Obstruction to economic developments will be avoided only if the concept of internal-external non-discrimination is further clarified in the licence terms (e.g. by including the definition of the Advisory Council in Recital 499) and if BNetzA’s related fines and sanctions are readily applied. It is imperative that BNetzA unambiguously has full power to intervene on both technical and commercial aspects of wholesale network access.

Until now, the three incumbent German MNOs have made clear they have no intention of enabling non-discriminatory wholesale access to their networks, or to support industrial and Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems. Many MVNOs, as well as industrial companies, willing to develop 5G networks and services, see their commercial and innovation potential curtailed, due to that fact that fit-for-purpose wholesale access to 4G is hampered by these MNOs. MVNO Europe believes that behaviour is detrimental not only to consumers’ interests but also to businesses of all sizes. Therefore, MVNO Europe hopes to mitigate the replication of such a situation with the development of 5G.

Jacques Bonifay, Chairman of MVNO Europe underlined that “fair and non-discriminatory access to 5G technologies for small operators and MVNOs is the only way to further advance German industrial and consumer interests. This is essential for boosting innovation and competition on both telecom consumer and business markets”.

Brussels, 2 August 2018 – Following-up on the hearing of 13 July on the forthcoming auction for 2 GHz and 3,6 GHz radio spectrum held by the German Federal Network Agency (hereafter ‘the BNetzA’), MVNO Europe calls upon the German regulator to provide for mandatory wholesale network access requirements on radio spectrum licensees, or to structurally encourage participants in the German 5G spectrum assignment proceedings to formally commit to offering credible wholesale network access.

Until now, the three incumbent German Mobile Network Operators (hereafter MNOs) – namely Telekom Deutschland, Vodafone and Telefónica Deutschland – made clear they have no intention of enabling non-discriminatory wholesale access to their networks, or to support industrial and Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems. Many Mobile Virtual Network Operators (hereafter MVNOs), as well as industrial companies willing to develop 5G networks and services, see their commercial and innovation potential curtailed, due to that fact that fit-for-purpose wholesale access to 4G is prevented by these MNOs. MVNO Europe believes that the behaviour of incumbent German operators runs counter to enabling competition and innovation. This is therefore detrimental to consumers’ interests as well as businesses of all sizes.

In this regard, MVNO Europe objects to the claims made by incumbent MNOs at the 13 July hearing, stating that there would be no basis in German or EU law to impose wholesale access obligations as part of radio spectrum licensing proceedings. In fact, in German law, § 60 and 61 of the Telekommunikationsgesetz enable both radio spectrum auctions and tender procedures to be accompanied by pre-conditions – such as the obligation for prospective licensees to commit to provide wholesale access to MVNOs, national, roaming, etc. At the European level, Article 5 of the EU Radio Spectrum Policy programme – which requires Member States to take competition issues into consideration and allows them to impose pro-competitive conditions when granting spectrum access rights – was formally approved by all EU governments in 2012 and is therefore binding. Moreover, similar possibilities and requirements are enshrined in the provisional final text of the European Electronic Communications Code, soon to be adopted.

Therefore, MVNO Europe understands that the BNetzA is required to give reasoned consideration to potentially mandating wholesale network access as part of the 2 GHz and 3,6 GHz spectrum licensing proceedings.

Jacques Bonifay, Chairman of MVNO Europe expressed “concerns that cementing the current market structure would endanger German industrial interests as well as impede both innovation and competition on consumer and business markets.” He further added that “such a market evolution may prevent the emergence of pan-European and global 5G-based services delivered by European companies, given that it will be impossible to ‘scale-up’ in Europe if Germany cannot adequately be served”.

MVNO Europe members are prepared to pay a fair price for wholesale access, in a manner that will not only allow MNOs to make a fast and reasonable return on 5G investment, but also enable innovative developments fully capitalising on new network technologies.

Brussels – MVNO Europe welcomes BEREC’s study report on mobile post-merger prices and quality in Austria, Ireland and Germany and calls upon national authorities in charge of radio spectrum to further consider independent Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) when granting radio spectrum licences and seeking credible remedies in telecom consolidation proceedings.

In light of the several mergers and acquisitions that took place in recent years on telecommunications markets and being aware that such economic developments can have a significant effect on market structures and competitive dynamics, the BEREC investigation found that, in all three cases, retail prices increased after the merger. In other words, the merger procedures negatively affected mobile end-users, made them pay more than they used to for their mobile subscriptions and created a need for counterbalancing measures.

Only focusing on behavioural remedies, the study concludes that granting access to MVNOs can be effective redress solutions to the 4-to-3 mobile mergers– like in the Austrian 2013 Hutchison/Orange merger. However, the BEREC underlines that it may take substantial time for such a remedy to produce results. This observation seems logical as, for two of the three cases analysed, data was available only for one and a half years after the merger. Therefore, only short- to medium-run effects could be estimated.

As developing an MVNO business – like the development of any other business – requires a minimum of time, MVNO Europe invites the BEREC to perform additional ex-post analysis three to five years after merger operations. After such a period of time, the remedy effects of MVNOs on competition and market prices will become much more visible.

In light of the advent of 5G, it is indispensable that entry barriers to the market and access to new network technologies are facilitated for MVNOs – be they light or full MVNOs – so that they can truly provide end-user benefits through state-of-the-art innovation in areas such as the Internet of Things and high-speed Internet. More precisely, as far as MVNO Europe members are concerned, ideal remedies to ensure maximum MVNO countervailing effects on the market appear to be a combination of:

Full MVNO access mandated on the Mobile Network Operator(s) concerned (e.g. as part of radio spectrum licensing or merger proceedings)

Structural commitments boosting the MVNOs’ customer base towards critical mass (e.g. by requiring merging MNOs to sell part of their customer base, and part of their sub-brands or shops, to a remedy taker MVNO).